I thank Deputy Murphy for his very important question and the work he is doing on the ground for our enterprise areas in Tipperary. Balanced regional development is a key focus of the work of the Department through our development agencies. In this regard, IDA Ireland is continuing its strong commitment to promoting foreign direct investment, FDI, in regional locations as part of our 2025–29 strategy, Adapt Intelligently, and is targeting 550 investments of FDI projects outside Dublin over the strategy’s lifetime. Furthermore, IDA Ireland is positioning the midwest, including Tipperary, as a competitive destination for global investment and is targeting 100 of these 550 investments for the midwest. The availability of suitable property and strategic sites is a critical component of the regional value proposition and can be a key differentiator in investment decisions from both new and existing clients, as well as clients of Enterprise Ireland and our local enterprise offices. IDA Ireland, in partnership with Tipperary County Council, has secured planning permission, as the Deputy pointed out, for a proposed 10,000 sq. m advanced factory building solution on a site of approximately 3.4 ha at Ballingarrane Science and Technology Park in Clonmel, which I visited with the Deputy earlier this year. This advanced planning permission allows maximum flexibility to the potential client, whereby they can avail of the permission or amend it to suit their specific requirements, subject to further planning permission. IDA Ireland, in conjunction with Tipperary County Council, continues to aggressively market the Ballingarrane site and the proposed advanced building solution to existing investors, including in the IDA Ireland portfolio and through our Enterprise Ireland global office network, its regional offices and IDA Ireland’s website. The timeline for delivery of the proposed advanced building solution will depend on when the site is acquired and developed by a suitable client. I will give more information in my follow-up reply.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I hear Deputy Murphy's frustration and I assure him I will leave no stone unturned in getting a client for this very exciting opportunity in Ballingarrane, which is an exceptional site that has full planning permission. We have approximately 16 IDA clients in County Tipperary such as Boston Scientific, Abbott, Merck, Sharp and Dohme, MSD, and Waystone. These are all exceptional clients providing high-quality employment across the sector. We have approximately 95 Enterprise Ireland clients in Tipperary that employ 6,800 people. Between both agencies there are more than 12,000 people in employment. Critically, and I know the huge work the Deputy is doing in the tourism sector, we hope to have our capital schemes for Fáilte Ireland out in August. I know at the forefront of the Deputy's mind is the Bulmers visitor centre at Dowd’s Lane, which is another exciting project. The enterprise projects, between tourism and enterprise agencies, will critically breathe life into rural areas and give towns that strong, sustainable employment they so badly need.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I assure the Deputy of my intention to continue to work very hard with the IDA to try to secure a client for that. It is important to note IDA employment increased 30% over the past five years in Tipperary as a whole. When we consider the region it is linked with, it has outpaced it by a very significant margin. Those exceptional clients in Clonmel and Tipperary as a whole create a solid ecosystem that makes it attractive for other clients to come into the region. We will work very closely with the Deputy to have a very strong value proposition. Budget 2026 achieved that for the enterprise sector. With our research development and innovation tax credit and the work we can do in supporting sustainable investments, in working with training and skills, we have a very important and exciting opportunity in Tipperary to work and develop further the options and value proposition Ballingarrane gives. We will do our very best to try to secure a client for it.
Sentiment score: 0.54
I thank the Deputy for his very important question. Enterprise Ireland supported the owners of the factory in Carrickmacross over a number of years as they sought to establish themselves as an infant formula and nutrition providers manufacturer. In March 2025, the company informed Enterprise Ireland that the business was no longer viable in Ireland due to inflationary pressures and market conditions. The company had intended to produce infant formula for the Chinese market. A number of factors have impacted on demand for imported formula in China, including a switch away from imported products and rapid growth in locally produced products. There has also been a significant decline in the Chinese birth rate over the past decade. As a result, the owners of the factory took the decision to sell the plant in Carrickmacross and appointed an Irish agent to support the sale process. They are actively seeking interest from potential purchasers of the facility and discussions have taken place with a number of interested parties. This process is ongoing and Enterprise Ireland continues to support the company by facilitating introductions to potential buyers where appropriate. Active promotion of the facility is being undertaken and further expressions of interest are being sought by the company both in Ireland and internationally. The Department keeps in regular contact with Enterprise Ireland about that important site. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, is very much linked in with it as well. Enterprise Ireland will continue to liaise with the agent in supporting the promotion of the facility to the relevant potential purchasers as a matter of priority. My Department remains committed to driving balanced regional development, including in the north east. Enterprise Ireland supported 84 companies in Monaghan and 66 companies in Cavan in 2025. These companies employ more than 14,000 people. The north-east region enterprise plan is also focused on delivering a range of collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise environment in the region.
Sentiment score: 0.32
First, Enterprise Ireland is working hard. It is the Government agency responsible for procuring a good client for the site in partnership with the owners. As I pointed out, this is a company whose business model was no longer viable. It is not fictitious; it did happen. The prima facie evidence is there. The owners engaged with Enterprise Ireland and were hoping to employ 60 people. This is obviously a very strong asset and Enterprise Ireland will work closely with national and international clients and the IDA to try to see if we can get a tenant for it. There is significant employment in Cavan-Monaghan between Enterprise Ireland and the IDA with some very high-value jobs. In Cavan, as I put on the record, there are 66 Enterprise Ireland clients employing more than 6,000 people, as well as 1,557 people employed by clients related to the IDA. We have very strong jobs which our State agencies support in the area. We will do all we can in working with our agencies to get a good client for the site.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I am not aware of whether the owners availed of the programme in question. Obviously, they availed of some significant Enterprise Ireland funding but the majority of that was repayable and has been repaid under the terms of the original agreement. Again, that demonstrates that a significant business was put forward at that juncture. As I said, there is significant employment in the region. There are, as we heard from Deputy Michael Murphy, many sites that require good clients in them but the Realpolitik is that we are operating in a very different economic environment, with so many geopolitical uncertainties, and the challenge to get capital investments is more difficult. Notwithstanding that, the economy is growing. We have seen all 13 economic sectors growing, no more so than in Cavan-Monaghan through the jobs being supported by our agencies. We will continue to do that and we will market the site aggressively, as we do by putting Irish enterprise first. Enterprise Ireland is ensuring that over 60% of jobs are located outside Dublin throughout the regions.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I thank the Deputy. The tourism sector entered the year with positive momentum. There were consecutive months of growth in overseas visitors from August through to February, the most recent period reported by the CSO, indicating that tourism was performing strongly prior to the escalation of the conflict. The Government, however, recognises that geopolitical instability, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, can have implications for international travel and tourism. Tourism is a vital pillar of Ireland’s economy, with overseas visitors contributing approximately €6 billion annually to the island. The sector supports close to 10% of total employment, and critically, around six in every ten tourism jobs depend directly on international visitors. The Middle East plays a critical role in global aviation, acting as a major transit hub and accounting for approximately 14% of international transit traffic worldwide. Disruption in the region therefore has system-wide effects that extend well beyond its borders, particularly for connectivity between Asia, Australia and Europe. These disruptions have altered the operating environment for tourism and underscore the importance of continued vigilance and a flexible, responsive policy approach as global uncertainty persists. Tourism Ireland continues to take a forward-looking approach to market development, underpinned by resilience and diversification. In August 2025, the Government set out targeted initiatives to grow tourism within mainland Europe and globally and avoid over-reliance on any single market. While maintaining strong performance in the US and Great Britain, Tourism Ireland is increasing its focus on mainland Europe, developing Canada as a key growth market, and laying the groundwork for long-term growth in markets such as China. The growing network of new air routes from the US enhances marketing potential. Tourism Ireland continues to undertake extensive advertising, publicity, social and digital activity along with airline and tour operator partnerships. Tourism Ireland's Kickstart campaign earlier this year covered 19 US states. As an island destination, air access is fundamental, accounting for approximately 90% of overseas inbound connectivity.
Sentiment score: 0.17
We have had strong growth this year, which is important to recognise, particularly since we brought in a new tourism policy in December, A New Era for Irish Tourism, which looks at bringing new strategies to lengthen the season and at ensuring we have a strong culinary strategy this year that will enhance the value proposition across the country, and, hopefully, an accommodation strategy that will look at viability for hotels. I want to be careful in terms of airlines. Many airlines are consolidating their routes. If they run two flights and they are half full, they will only run one. We want to be careful how that translates into cuts in numbers. We are encouraging the airlines and working with them on this huge challenge. We have a lot of capital schemes coming out from August for Fáilte Ireland looking at enhancing visitor attractions, working with the 46,000 SMEs and, hopefully, getting capital into them to enhance their value proposition. Through our viability mechanism - our VAT cut - we are giving them 4.5 % on their margin. We need 6% and 7% growth on domestic and overseas tourism, which will be important for the communities the Deputy represents.
Sentiment score: 0.36
We will do our very best to ensure the sector keeps growing. I am aware that overseas visitors are critical for regional locations. That is why we are looking at growing our value proposition. Remember that some of the viability mechanisms have not started yet; they will not kick in until 1 July. They are coupled with reform of our capital schemes, and I have taken the view within the Department that what you cannot measure, you cannot manage. We have targets in Fáilte Ireland relating to growth on a month-by-month basis and strict KPIs to build up support for SMEs. There will be significant support across 2026 and we will continue that. We have about €400 million in our capital plan for the next five years to support the tourism sector. That is a very significant increase on the previous one. We also have a very strong budget working with our strategic air activation scheme. We are putting boots on the ground where we have new flights because we need resources to market them and to get the awareness of flights and to get them to take hold. There is a lot of work to do over 2026. I look forward to working with the Deputy to ensure the kingdom does benefit from that.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for his question. We are very clear we want to see real wage growth in the economy. We saw from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, index in December that all 13 sectors of the economy are growing, but critically, we are seeing real wage growth. I know that will be a challenge across 2026. I note the Deputy's concerns about the subminimum rates but we were very clear in our concerns for small businesses, for corner shops and for that developmental piece in terms of the early years of one's career when young people get experience. I am particularly thinking of our corner shops and the potential imposition that a 30% uplift in costs would put on them, really threatening their viability. We also have to be careful of any unintended consequences of these decisions on third level education. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, is working on an action plan for apprenticeships and that is key. The Deputy raised a very valid point about making apprenticeships attractive and ensuring we are bringing in skills that are critical for the construction sector and for trades, some of which are exceptional in terms of the career pathway they offer. Critically, as a Government, we have brought parity of esteem to third level education and apprenticeships in the Central Applications Office, CAO, process, which was a very strong signal from the Government. We put forward an amendment to the motion earlier to detail the huge improvement we have seen in workers' rights in this country, from improved agility in remote working to the trajectory towards a living wage, the different schemes to support workers, the tips legislation, the ban on zero-hour contracts and the right to disconnect. There are so many different areas we have made progress on. I am thinking particularly of the action plan for collective bargaining, which we brought in ahead of schedule. I gave that commitment despite what happened with the ECJ case. Again, that gives us a good pathway for continued improvements in workers' rights.
Sentiment score: 0.34
To be fair, I do not think they are exploiting young people. In the many communities that have small shops, they really provide a service to the community and provide a huge resource, especially socially, to so many villages right across the country. On apprenticeships, I absolutely think we have a lot of room for improvement. We are working on the action plan with the Department of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to improve conditions and to make apprenticeships more viable career choices. Those are the skills of the future that a growing and dynamic economy needs. I am happy to work with the Deputy in that regard.
Sentiment score: 0.36